A Civic Federation report examines the continued funding decline of Chicago-area public employee pension funds. Unfunded liabilities for the ten funds analyzed in the report increased to $32 billion from $27.4 billion in FY2010, an increase of 16.7 percent, according to the most recent audited data available. The report attributes the declining health of Chicago-area public pension funds in large part to inadequate employer contributions over a sustained period and recent investment losses. In the report, supported by MacArthur, the Federation urges local governments to develop pension reform frameworks suited to their own employee population, statutory provisions, and funding levels.
